Flora
by silversilhouette11
Summary: Sikozu is doing routine maintenance when there are some unexpected side effects. Of all people, Scorpius may be the only person who can help. *This is my first story so reviews are really appreciated. I personally don't think there are enough Sikozu/Scorpius pairings out there, so I'd like to add to it."
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Farscape or anything related

Setting: Takes place on Moya sometime after "Natural Election"

* * *

**Flora**

**Chapter 1**

During her time on Moya, Sikozu typically found herself bored. There was no one she could hold a decent intellectual conversation with. It's not that the others weren't smart, with the exception of John Crichton, but they weren't on the same level as she was. Aeryn was smart, but she was a soldier. Science wasn't exactly her expertise. Then there was D'argo, the hard-headed and immature Luxan. He'd rather blow up something that he didn't understand than study it. She considered Chiana and Rygel simpleminded, only interested in material things. Because of this, she made sure to hide her belongings. Crichton was, well Crichton. And Noranti, she had an extremely high knowledge of the world, but lacked communication skills. Then there was Scorpius. He sought asylum, yet the crew felt it necessary to imprison him. He was the smartest of them all, and the most devious. Which is what she liked about him.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts she arrived at one of the lower tiers that Pilot designated as requiring maintenance. 'This is the first Leviathan I've been on and I can still do a better job at fixing it than people who've been here for cycles.' She thought to herself.

One of the power conduits had malfunctioned, an easy fix. She fumbled around through the wires until she spotted something strange. It looked like a grouping of wires with strange growths encompassing them. When she reached in to inspect the problem, something sharp scraped her hand. She jumped back and examined the wound. It was small and she healed fairly quickly, so she let it be and continued repairing the conduit.

Once she was finished with her work she informed Pilot of the repair and returned to the bridge to join her crew members. They were partaking in their usual conversations. Complaining about where to go, who to throw off the ship, where the next wormhole would show up. This kind of squabbling didn't usually bother her, but for some reason it was really starting to give her a headache. She excused herself from the group and headed down to the cell where Scorpius was. All that arguing had turned her headache into a full-blown migraine now, and her vision was becoming somewhat fuzzy.

When she got to the door outside of where Scorpius was being held, he greeted her in his usual way, a kind of half-smile half-sneer. She accepted the invitation and entered the room.

"Scorpius" She began, "How did you manage to not kill every single incompetent being on this ship? They're completely impossible to work with!"

"Determination", Scorpius responded coolly. "If they were dead, where would I get my wormhole information?"

To that she smiled. She admired his resolve.

"I just don't understand how you do it, I just had to go fix a stupid power conduit because no one else could be bothered to do it." She said with a sigh as she put her hands on the bars of the cell door.

Just then she felt as if all the wind was knocked out of her. Suddenly her head feels heavy, her breathing shallow. Scorpius looks at her with concern. He knows this isn't part of her usual flirty tactics. She goes to speak but collapses on the floor outside the cell door, just out of Scorpius' reach.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Sikozu lay there on the floor barely breathing. Unable to reach her personal comms Scorpius yells out hoping someone would hear him.

"What is it Scorpie? You know we don't offer room service", Answered John.

"This isn't the time to joke, John. Get down here. Now!" Scorpius snapped back

John and Aeryn had come to investigate and upon seeing Sikozu unconscious on the floor, John pulls pulse pistol on Scorpius assuming he was to blame.

"What did you do?" John shouted at him.

"I did nothing!" Scorpius snarled back.

"Then what happened?" John asked as Aeryn knelt down to check on Sikozu.

Scorpius and John swapped hateful glares when Aeryn interrupted, "John, she's burning up."

Crichton looked confused saying "Whoa, wait a minute, I thought only Sebaceans could get heat delirium."

"Her body could be reacting to something else. What was she doing when she collapsed?" Aeryn asked shortly.

They both looked at Scorpius, John more suspiciously than Aeryn.

Angrily, Scorpius said, "She was talking about fixing a power conduit down on a lower tier and then just collapsed. "

Just then Chiana appeared in the doorway.

"Chiana!" John exclaimed, "You help Aeryn take Sikozu to see Noranti. Maybe the old lady can whip up something up to help her."

"John, you should probably get down to that lower tier and find out what's going on." Aeryn ordered.

Crichton nodded in agreement as Chiana and Aeryn disappeared around the corner.

"John, you should really let me out of this cell. I'm of no use to you here." Scorpius persuaded.

"Nice try. You're staying here while I go to investigate." John responded as he left the room.

Pilot directed Crichton to the power conduit that Sikozu had been working on. Once there, he opened the cover panel and inspected the interior. He saw nothing and was about to close the conduit back up when he heard strange noises coming from behind all the wires. He reached his hand inside to move some of them out of the way when this bizarre collection of wires covered in a green fuzzy substance came shooting out at him. He threw himself out of the way, and recovered in time to watch the projectile retract itself back inside the conduit. He realized that some of the wires had small purplish flowers attached to them and then his eyes began to burn.

"Pilot, it's that damn plant!" Crichton shouted into his comms while running back to meet the others.

"That can't be John, Moya feels nothing." Pilot said confused.

Once John got back to Noranti and the others, Aeryn explains that Sikozu is getting worse. Her fever was still rising and she was beginning to mildly convulse.

"When that plant was eating Moya before, it wasn't visibly hostile, right?" John asked.

"No," Aeryn began "aside from attacking Moya, it didn't do much of anything."

"Well this one has turned night of the living dead, it came flying out of the wall at my head!"

"It could've injected Sikozu with some sort of toxin. I saw a scratch on her hand earlier. She heals quickly so it couldn't be from that long ago." Aeryn proposed. "Get Scorpius, last time the plant was deterred by his cooling rods. It might help be able to slow the spread of it through her bloodstream."

John grumbled and made his way back to Scorpius' cell.

Scorpius was sitting against the wall quietly when Crichton entered. "Let's go Grasshopper, you get to play nurse." He said unenthusiastically.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

John escorted Scorpius to the room where Sikozu was. Not sure what to expect, Scorpius slowly entered and approached Sikozu. To everyone's surprise, the closer he got, the more her symptoms disappeared. He continued to move forward until he was standing at Sikozu's side. Her convulsions had stopped altogether and her breathing was slowing.

"It seems to be helping. Scorpius should stay here while we take care of that plant." Aeryn stated.

Reluctantly John said, "Alright Scorpie, we're going weed-whacking. Hopefully Granny can make up some magic potion for Sleeping Beautiful over here."

John and Aeryn left an unenthused Scorpius with Sikozu and went to get help from the others. Meanwhile Noranti shuffled around the room mumbling to herself, and occasionally bumping into the furniture, before she disappeared from the room.

Relieved, Scorpius slowly sat down on the edge of the table where Sikozu was resting. The current situation confused him. He felt helpless and needed all at the same time. If Sikozu was merely an ally on this unfortunate ship then why did she affect him so much? He pushed the thought from his mind. With luck, the others would be back soon and he didn't need to bother himself with the idea any longer.

* * *

On the lower tier John, Aeryn and the others were discussing how to permanently eradicate the plant and what to do about Sikozu.

"Why don't we do exactly what we did last time? Split up on Aeryn's prowler and D'argo's ship and torch the thing from the inside." John suggested.

"We don't need to eradicate the entire ship, besides Sikozu can't be moved. The toxins will spread through her bloodstream more than they already have." Rationalized Aeryn. "We need to find the plant, contain it and get a sample to take back to Noranti before we get rid of it."

John jumped in, "I think I have an idea. Hey Sparky, got a job for you."

"I'm not getting eaten by some plant just to save Scorpius' plaything!" Rygel complained.

"You just have to lure it out of the wall, Sparky. Don't worry, we'll grab you before it gets too hungry." John comforted.

"It seems like only a small portion of the plant survived. It contained itself in one of the sealed chambers left from when the Peacekeepers were on board. This part of the hull is still sealed so we shouldn't have to ignite Moya's entire inner hull like last time." Aeryn diagnosed.

"Alright Sparky, you're up! Let's grab a piece of this guy and get it back to Granny. I don't like leaving Scorpie unattended."

"He isn't going to do anything John." Aeryn said softly.

"Yeah, so you keep saying, but I don't really wanna take that chance."

* * *

Scorpius hadn't moved from Sikozu's side. He just sat there, watching her quietly suffering. Her breathing had almost returned to normal and she hadn't experienced any convulsions the entire time he had been in the room. To him, it looked as if she was only asleep. He placed a hand lightly on her forehead. Even through the glove he could tell she still had a fever. Removing his hand, he reached into his side pocket producing a spare cooling rod. Gently, he held it against her cheek. The thoughts came flooding back. He didn't know why he feared so much for her. Perhaps it was because she was the only person on this pathetic ship who took his side. She understood him, she trusted him. Helping her just seemed like the right thing to do.

He heard the others approaching so he swiftly returned the cooling rod to his pocket and went to stand against the counter on the opposite side of the room. Aeryn, John and Rygel returned, sample in hand. Aeryn checked on Sikozu. Her temperature was down, but not completely gone.

"Okay Scorpie, time to go back to bed." John teased.

Scorpius complied flatly, "Very well John."

The two of them left the room. However they got no further than the hallway before Sikozu began to violently shake once again.

"John! Get back here!" Aeryn yelled after them while trying to comfort her. "At the moment we need him. He stays."

Crichton grumbled and returned to the room with Scorpius in tow. Sikozu's symptoms lessened and Scorpius took up his previous place against the cabinets.

Looking around, Aeryn noticed that Noranti wasn't in the room with them. "Where the frell is that old woman?" She complained, "I'm going to look for her and I'll be back."

Scorpius didn't dare look at Sikozu. He didn't need anyone becoming suspicious about his intentions. Instead he just stared at Crichton with an indifferent expression.

John wondered why Scorpius was being so cooperative. He hadn't thrown a single tantrum through this whole ordeal. He couldn't really be concerned for her. More likely than not, he was looking to protect his only potential ally.

A minute later, Aeryn's voice came over the comms. "John, I found Noranti. She's asleep on the floor and I can't wake her. D'argo and Chiana are busy with Pilot and I haven't got a frelling clue where Rygel went!"

"He's probably rummaging through Sikozu's stuff." He said to himself.

Scorpius couldn't help but overhear the statement and scowl. She wasn't even dead and these vultures were already going through her possessions.

"I'm on my way Aeryn. " Crichton looked at Scorpius and said, "If anything happens to her while I'm gone, you'll find yourself waving to us from the other side of Moya's hull, clear?"

"As crystal, John." He said with a sneer.

Scorpius watched John disappear down the hall before turning his gaze to Sikozu. He gently moved toward the table and sat next to her once again. As incompetent as they were, he didn't doubt the others would find a cure for her. He leaned over her, returning the spare cooling rod to her cheek and rested his other hand on her arm. She almost seemed to relax under his touch. She will be alright he told himself. She was one of the strongest, most stubborn people he knew. Which is probably why he felt drawn to her. They both admired the other's intelligence and determination. In reality, they were a good match. Whether that was in terms of allegiant partnership or something else entirely, he wasn't sure.

Just then John's voice rang out over the comms, "We got Granny and we're on our way back."

Scorpius held his position and did not respond. For some reason that he didn't understand, he did not want to move. This was the only way he knew how to help, anywhere else he was useless. He reminded himself that a long and tedious explanation would be necessary if John and Aeryn returned to find him like this.

He was just about to stand when Sikozu's eyes fluttered open. She was disoriented by the remaining fever and barely able to talk. Scorpius tried to calm her down. He placed his free hand on the other side of her face and explained what had happened. "You'll be alright, Sikozu. Don't be afraid." The caring tone of his voice startled him. Her eyes searched his face frantically trying to decipher the situation.

Distracted by Sikozu, Scorpius failed to hear John, Aeryn and Noranti enter the room.

"What the hell are you doing Scorpius?" John shouted at him.

He raised a hand to John and said, "She is unharmed."

"The hell she is!" He motioned for Scorpius to get away from the table with his pulse pistol.

As Scorpius began to comply, a hand shot up and grabbed his arm.

"Stay." Sikozu managed to mutter weakly.

Everyone looked at her in disbelief. Scorpius tried as hard as he could to hide his relief.

"Please?" Her grip loosened around Scorpius' arm and he sat back down on the edge of the table. Her hand still rested on his arm.


End file.
